Greetings o loyal readers! I appreciate the time you take out of your busy schedules to read and hopefully review my story. I really put my heart and soul into this one. I absolutely adore Kisa. She is such a sweetie and I really understand her. To make up for the delay with the last chapter and the length, I am going to reveal something about Kisa that some of you probably didn't know. Though, I am positive that some of you know. Well, I best be getting on with the story now. Here we go…

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Disclaimer: Almost forgot this. I do not own fruits basket, but I do own Akari. Even though she's partially based off of a certain contest winner. And as much as I'd like it, I don't own any of the songs from the Wizard of Oz.

FYI. This means a character's thoughts. Now, here's where it really starts:

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Akari and Kisa became fast friends. Whenever she needed something Kisa was there. Akari was so happy. Kisa was fairly excited too. In that friendship Akari was the dominant one. Kisa was the quiet one who just when with whatever Akari said. This, as a matter of fact, wasn't that bad. She asked Kisa's opinion on most things.

When Akari was sick, Kisa made her a card and gave her a stuffed toy. The times she was confused, Kisa explained it. She would do anything for Akari. But wait! Isn't there something missing? Yea. What did Akari do for Kisa?

Don't jump on Akari. Things are not entirely as they seem. She did do little things. The only reason things were this way is lack of knowledge. But that would soon change once she met Hiro. That isn't a good thing under normal circumstances, but considering what Hiro had just seen…That made it worse.

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Flashback…

It was an ordinary day. Well, as ordinary as the first day of middle school could be. Kisa was nervous. There would be all new people there. And this was her first day at a COED school.

Wow. This is scary. I'm not gonna know anyone. I am glad that Akito-sama is allowing this, but I am scared. I wonder if anyone will notice my scars. I hope not. Just in case I'll try to cover them up. I need to calm down. Relax. I'm just worrying too much. Everything will be fine. Right? Right. I'm too nervous. If I'm this nervous before I have even left my room how am I gonna last at school? I won't. I'm hopeless. I'm just gonna mess up like everyone says. They're right. I'm nothing. Nothing…

Kisa went right to her dresser. She automatically went to the third drawer from the bottom on the left. She didn't have to look. She pulled out a sock and sat down on the floor in the far corner of her room. She pulled put the knife and started cutting. Lucky for her before long there was a knock at her door.

"Kisa it's me. Open up! You don't want to be late on your first day of school. Besides I have a surprise for you.

Hiro. He's here. O no. What if he sees? Wait, when did I do this? Just now? I did it again. I guess it's become a reflex now. I didn't even realize it. I heard Hiro knock. HIRO!

"Come on Kisa. Are you still asleep? Wake up you bloody tiger! Come on. Stop being lazy and open the stupid door."

Kisa quickly shoved the knife back in the sock and stuffed it in the drawer. She then ran into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth.

"I'm waiting," Hiro snapped impatiently.

She wt it and pressed it down on her arm to try and stop the bleeding. Actually, she just needed to hide them from Hiro. She didn't really know what to do.

"Come on! What's taking so long," he questioned.

Kisa finally gave up and went over to the door. She opened it slowly.

"Finally. What took you so long," Hiro asked walking in without a second thought. "O by the way, your mom left a note. It said she had to go and have a good day at school."

"O-o-o-ok." Damn it! If I keep stuttering he'll know something's up!

"Kisa, what's wrong," Hiro questioned concerned. What is she hiding? What's with her today? Why did she suddenly run into the bathroom after I got in here?

"N-n-n nothing Hiro."

"Then why are you hiding in the bathroom," Hiro asked with attitude. But he was worried. That's the funny thing about Hiro. He can insult you even when he's worried.

"I-I'm not hiding. Whatever gave you that idea?"

"KISA! What happened?" Hiro was freaking out. He had decided to go and open the bathroom door without telling Kisa. That way she'd have to talk to him.

"N-n nothing. D-don't worry about it."

"How can I not worry? You're bleeding!"

"It's mostly stopped now anyway."

"Kisa what did you do? Did you do this to yourself?"

"I-I-I'm sorry."

"What made you do this?"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I just feel like I deserve to be punished."

"What? The punishment Akito gives you isn't enough?"

"I-I-I'm sorry. It's hard to explain," Kisa squeaked out nearly crying.

Hiro sighed. "No, it's fine. I shouldn't have said that. But how long have you been doing this?"

"Awhile."

"Define a while.

Kisa mumbled something that was so quiet and jumbled that it couldn't be understood.

"What was that?"

"For six years."

"WHAT!"

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's just, six years? You would've been five."

Kisa just nodded.

"Damn."

"Anyhow, didn't you say you had a surprise Hiro-chan?"

"Huh, o yea. This got me side tracked."

"What is it? The surprise I mean."

"The surprise? I am the surprise."

"I don't get it."

"Kisa, I'm going to your school."

"What?"

"I am going to you school. I'll be in your class."

"Really," Kisa asked hopeful.

"Ya, now come on. If we don't hurry we'll be late."

"H-hai!" Kisa nodded and grabbed her bag. She quickly caught up to Hiro and followed him out the door.

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The two Sohmas got to school just a little before the bell rang. They quickly put their stuff away and took their seats.

"Guess who," said a certain someone from behind Kisa covering her eyes.

"Akari-chan?"

"Bingo!"

"I thought you were going to the all girl academy."

"I was. Until I found out you were going here. And then I begged my parents to let me come here and well, here I am," Akari finished smiling. It was blatantly obvious that she was ecstatic to be back with her best friend.

"Kisa who's this," Hiro wondered aloud.

"The question is, who are you mister," Akari snapped back.

Hiro glared at her. "You. Me. Outside. Alone. After school. Got it?"

"Fine!" I'm ready for whatever this guy had to dish out. Who is he anyway?

Kisa could just sit there and watch as her two best friends argue. O dear. This is not going to be good. I hope everything's ok. I mean Akari-chan has been a really good friend. And Hiro. I love him. I hope they get along.

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Sure enough, after school Akari was standing there waiting for Hiro. Where was Kisa you ask? She was inside talking to the teacher about the homework assignments for the night.

"I'm here! Now, who are you?"

"I asked you first. Who are you?"

"I'm Akari Soho, Kisa's best friend," Akari stated proudly.

"Right," said Hiro.

"What was that?"

"I said you're not her best friend."

"O and why is that Mr. Know-it-all?"

"The name's Hiro Sohma and I am Kisa's best friend!"

"Sohma? Are you related to her?"

"Yea. What's it to you?"

"Then why hasn't she ever mentioned you?"

"Because stupid, you're not her best friend."

"Ya right! Kisa tells me anything and everything!"

"Evidently not."

"Well, if you're so tough let's see how you fell about this!" Akari ran over and hugged him. Before she knew it there was a "poof" sound and Hiro was no where to be found.

Just as this was happening, Kisa had come down from the classroom. She got down just in time to see and hear that last part. O no o no o no o no o no. What if she finds out? She will now. Then she won't want to be my friend anymore. She'll have to have her memories erased. No, I don't want that to happen. "NO!"

Akari and the sheep (Hiro) turned to look at Kisa. Oops. Did I just say that out loud? Kisa blushed furiously.

"Kisa am I seeing things or did this Hiro kid just turn into a sheep?"

"I'M A RAM, NOT A SHEEP!"

"He talks?"

"Akari-chan there's something you need to know now."

"Kisa you shouldn't tell her. Hatori will just erase her memories and she won't remember a thing."

"Whoa wait a minute! What's this about someone erasing my memories?" Akari was freaked out. It was understandable. After all, it's not everyday you hug a boy and he turns into an animal. Well, that's normal in the Sohma family. But that's beside that point. Someone's going to erase my memories? I don't get it. How's that possible? And how did that Hiro kid turn into a sheep? "How can someone erase memories? And explain about the talking sheep."

"I'M NOT A SHEEP! I'M A RAM!"

Akari stared. "Sheep."

"Damn you!"

"Hiro please stop. She needs to know. I'll answer your questions. First of all, it is possible for your memories to be erased. It might be done because you just learned about our curse." Kisa sighed. This is going to be a long story.

"Curse?"

"Kisa you shouldn't be wasting your time telling her. O and Stupid, do me a favor. Look away," Hiro spoke annoyed.

"Look away. Why?" Just after Akari finished asking that, there was a poof and a little cloud of smoke. That little sheep was gone. And in its place was a naked 12 year old boy. "What the heck?"

"I told you to look away! Kisa where are my clothes?"

"Right here," Kisa spoke as she handed them to him. She had picked them up when she came outside.

"Eww! You're naked!" Akari looked away in disgust.

"Well, duh! I told you to look away Stupid!"

"The name's Akari, not Stupid."

"Whatever."

"Hiro-chan please be nice."

"Haha. She calls you Hiro-CHAN!"

"So? You just noticed that? You really are stupid." Hiro finished saying that just as he finished dressing.

"Am not! Anyhow, what's the deal with this "curse" you mentioned?"

"Umm, well it's a curse on our family. Twelve members of our family are cursed with the twelve spirits of the Chinese Zodiac. Another is cursed with the cat. We transform into the animal of the spirit we are cursed with for one of two reasons:

Number 1: We are hugged by a member of the opposite sex. You know, a boy hugging a girl or a girl hugging a boy. That's what just happened.

Number 2: If our bodies are under a great deal of stress or we are weak.

And then there is one more cursed person. The head of our family bears the brunt of this curse. He is constantly ill and will eventually die. Those are the cursed Sohma members. O and as far as who knows, there are very few who do. The cursed ones obviously. In most cases the cursed child's parents find out at birth. Well, they always do, if they're there," She spoke sadly looking down. "And they still know, except for one or two. But the ones who know and the cursed members live on the "inside" of the Sohma estate. The rest of our large family lives on the "outside.""

"Wow. When you say it that way it kinda makes sense. Hold it! Did you say we? As in you're cursed too?"

Kisa nodded silently and shyly.

"What animal are you then?"

"The tiger," she squeaked out.

Boy, I would have never have thought she was the tiger. She doesn't act very much like a tiger.

"Kisa, you want your friend to keep her memories right?"

"H-h-hai."

"Then go talk to Hatori and see what he has to say. Call my cell and tell me what he says. Ok?"

"A-al-alright Hiro." With that Kisa left.

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"Good, she's gone."

"I thought you were her BEST FRIEND!"

"I am and that's why I wanted her gone."

"That makes no sense."

"It really does."

"Why is that?"

"Because of what I'm about to say to you. It might upset her."

"What could be so bad?"

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Over at the main house…

Kisa ran all the way from school straight to the main house. After what seemed like forever, she reached Hatori's door. She knocked and attempted to catch her breath while waiting for the door to open.

Hatori opened the door to see a cute little girl bent over, sweating and trying to catch her breath. "Kisa. What are you doing here and why are you so out of breath?"

"I need to talk to you about something. And I ran all the way from school to here nonstop."

Hatori sighed. "Come on in. But sit down and take a minute to catch your breath before you start explaining anything."

Kisa went over and sat on the couch in Hatori's living room. After a two minutes and one glass of water, she had composed herself and was ready to talk.

"Now, what is it you needed to talk to me about all of a sudden?" I really do wonder. For her to run like that all alone, this has to be important.

"I've told you about Akari before. Well, it turns out she is going to my school this year too. And well, so is Hiro."

"O. Did they get into some sort of fight?"

"Yes and no. War of words. Then, well, um, Akari hugged Hiro. So I kinda had to tell her about the curse."

"I see."

"Please. Can she keep her memories? I don't want her to forget! She didn't reject me as a friend immediately because of the curse. She had an open mind. She still does. PLEASE! Uncle Hatori please! Don't make me lose her." Kisa begged to the extent that she was down on her knees in front of Hatori. She was also crying. She's the only friend I have that's not a member of the family. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her.

I know how much it means to Kisa to have a friend like this. I had, and I suppose I still do have Aya and Gure. They are crazy, but all in all good friends. But what would Akito think. O dear. "Kisa. I've made a decision. The verdict is…"

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Back with Hiro and Akari…

"Listen up. When was the last time you did something for Kisa? The last time you stopped to wonder, how is Kisa doing today? I wonder if she's as happy as she seems. Have you ever just stopped and wondered? No! You never gave it a second thought. Kisa would do and has done everything for you that she possibly can and could do for you. And all the while she was suffering. Getting beaten by her father. Being yelled at by her mother. Seeing Akito, the head, and letting herself get whipped and tortured. Some of the other Sohmas don't like her. She had to deal with them too. She still does. And then there are the kids at school. They used to make fun of her for her hair and her eyes. Things that are the way they are because she's cursed! From what I know they did stop, but still. Did you ever stop and think? Take one second out of your day to wonder about someone else? NO! You didn't! You selfish little child."

Akari was shocked. No one had ever talked to her like that. No one. Not her parents, her brother, any member of her family. Her classmates and teachers would never say things like that. She wasn't sure how to respond. I'm not selfish. I do worry about other people. I wonder about Kisa. But she always seems so happy. "I'm not! Ok? I do wonder about others, especially Kisa! But she always seems so happy th-"

"That what? That she always SEEMS so happy? Well that's just it. She SEEMS happy. She isn't. She keeps things bottled up."

"It's not like you would know."

"Actually I would. This morning I went to her house so that I could walk her to school. And do you know what I found?"

"No. What?"

"I went into her room and she ran into the bathroom. After a few minutes of that, I went in there to see what was going on. I found her trying to cover up cuts on her arms. Cuts that were bleeding. Cuts that were self-inflicted. Basically, I found out that she cut herself. Not just once. But a lot of times. She's a cutter."

"She what?"

"She's a cutter. She hurts herself. And you just make things worse!" Honestly. This stupid girl is probably the cause of Kisa's feelings. She feels like she can't talk to her. Yea, I bet that's it. Well, I'm still here for her.

This guy is nuts. He can't honestly think that I make Kisa feel worse. Kisa is always so happy. Isn't she? But the way he talks. Wait a minute. "Hey. Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? Look at the way you talk to her. You always seem to be ordering her around and insulting her. What kind of friend does that? And you say I'm the on hurting her! You say I'm the one making her feel worse! Well, news flash. So are you!"

What's she talking about? Me hurting Kisa. Yea right. I don't hurt her. But wait. I guess I do call her stupid tiger and lazy idiot sometimes. Ok, a lot of the time. But am I really hurting her? Do I say those things that much? It can't be! Can it?

Before Hiro had more of chance to think about what Akari just said, his phone went off.

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"Hello?"

"Hiro," Hatori acknowledged.

"Hatori, why are you calling me form Kisa's phone?"

"Because it was handy and she can't stop crying long enough to talk to you at the moment."

"Why? What's wrong? Is she ok?" Hiro asked there questions with genuine concern. Although his concern was starting to worry Akari.

"Calm down. She's fine. She's just trying to deal with what I told her about her friend."

"You already knew or she just told you?"

"That's none of your business. Now I told her that her friend could keep her memory as long as she kept the secret. And as long as Akito does not find out."

"Wow. That's awfully generous of you. It's so…so…not like you."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"Was that a joke or sarcasm?"

"What do you think? Anyhow, I need to be going. Tell the girl and then come home. No buts. Goodbye then."

Hiro heard a click sound and then a dial tone. Hatori hung up on him. Great. Now I have to tell that stupid girl she gets to remember all of this. I hope she appreciates this. "Hey idiot! That was Hatori. He's the doctor and the one who erases memories. He said that you can keep your memories. So you better be grateful!"

"I get to remember? So I won't forget Kisa, right?"

"You won't forget. Alright all ready! I'm leaving. I'll deal with you later." Hiro walked away.

I'll remember alright. I guess that Hiro kid had a point. I need to think more about Kisa's feelings. I swear. I'll be there for her just as much as she's been for me. Even more.

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And from that day on she was. Akari paid close attention to every little, tiny thing Kisa said and did. She made sure not to let her friend do all the helping. Akari took good care of her buddy. She was especially good at cheering Kisa up during times like this.

Akari did sneak up on Kisa, just like she thought, and it worked. Akari snuck up on Kisa. She did freak out and flip her over. About a minute later, Kisa actually realized what she had done. She turned around to see that her would be attacker was Akari. She was sitting there with a grin that was so goofy, that even Hatori would have to laugh. And Kisa did laugh. After seeing that, Akari began to laugh too.

By this time the rest of the class had gone. So, it was just the two girls. After about five minutes of laughing, the girls finally managed to compose themselves enough to stand up straight. Kisa grabbed her backpack and tossed Akari hers. The girls began to leave the classroom, but Kisa still had one more thing to say.

"Hey, Kari?"

"Ya, Kis?"

"Thanks."

The two girls left the classroom smiling. For fun they skipped out of the building singing "We're off to see the wizard" and laughing. Thus began the long walk home.

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Thank you so much! You all waited so very patiently for the last chapter and I hope this makes up for it! I hope to have the next one out to all of you soon. Well, I'm getting tired cause I spent all day working on this. I'm gonna say thanks, post this and then go to bed. Night all!

Desi: Yea. That's what friends do! LOL. I bet. I hope you enjoyed!

trunksgirl: Cute is good. Well, this is more. Hehe. It is good. But that doesn't mean she always will. You'll see what I mean.

Silver Sailor Ganymede: Sorry about the length. You are the first person to say that. Things like that make me more relaxed.

I understand about the school. That's good. It's still that way for me. I will update as soon as I possibly can. I hope this helped! Thanks. I'll try.

Asche: Yea. It was cute. Kindergarteners are cute in general!

I stare at you. I have one question for you. Were you high when you reviewed?

CaliCallMePrincess: Yes she has a buddy. Well, this chappie had drama in it. Enough to satisfy you for now? I'm glad it wasn't boring. Flashbacks are good. Thank you very much!

Starlight-angel1: I know and I appreciate it! Great? It's fine that you don't know a lot about Kisa. Ask me sometime and I shall tell you all I know and all I made up::Grins: Thanks. Yes, she is easily overshadowed. That's why I picked her. You really think she does well in a story alone? I wasn't sure, but I really wanted to! She is adorable, but she's also a teenager in my story. Thanks a bunch!

Rick: Thanks. Compliments about attacks mean a lot coming from you. I'm sorry. But I didn't want you to have to wait any longer. Dialogue can be useful. Facial expressions, huh? We'll see. Just read it and try to imagine their faces anyway! Thanks. There is always room for improvement and I acknowledge that. Well, what did you think?

Em: Yep, another chappie. Friendliness is important. Akari will be interesting? Or my version of Kisa? Proud of me for finally posting? LOL. Gee, thanks. Weird is fine. Your feelings are cool. They don't bother me. I updated as soon as I could. I always do. I had delays due to SATs and such. Hope it was worth the wait!

Mary-Jane: YOU DIDN'T REVIEW!

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Hope you all enjoyed. I'm going to sleep now. I'll start on chapter 4 tomorrow! Sweet dreams all. Night.